News Quarterly figures
Rudderless ForFarmers in heavy waters
ForFarmers once again performed disappointingly in the third quarter. The sales of compound feed fell by almost 10%, while the Ebitda also showed a considerable decline. The higher costs could not be fully passed on to the customers, according to the reading of the listed animal feed group that is currently without a CEO.
The declining volumes are not out of the blue, but a contraction of 7,2% in the total marketed feed volume can still be called substantial. Sales of sec compound feed fell by 9,1%. Sales in pig and poultry farming in particular are disappointing. Animal numbers in these sectors are under pressure, partly due to stoppers, persistent bird flu outbreaks and the transition to concepts (poultry farming). The volume gain in Poland is positive, as is the increased sales by Dutch dairy farming.
The half-year figures were even better than expected, although feed sales also declined at the time. The EBITDA then increased slightly. There is nothing left of that in the third quarter with a decrease of 17,3%. Without specifying exact amounts, ForFarmers says that this concerns a decline of several million. The twice as high energy bill kills ForFarmers. Between the lines, ForFarmers says that the item doubtful debtors is a point of concern, as pig farmers are still making losses despite the increased revenue.
Ode to loyal customers
In the press release, ForFarmers prominently thanks its loyal customers and employees, on whom they can rely in what they say are challenging markets. CFO Roeland Tjebbes says markets were volatile in the past quarter due to the war in Ukraine and the warm and dry summer. Due to the low water levels in Northwestern Europe, ForFarmers was forced to transport raw materials by road. And that is an expensive affair.
The third quarter was disappointing in several respects. On July 1, Chris Deen took office as the new CEO, but after a few months he was forced to resign due to illness. In the meantime, he has announced his definitive farewell and ForFarmers can again look for a new CEO. For the time being, CFO Roeland Tjebbes and COO Pieter Wolleswinkel are joint acting CEO, as they also did after the departure of former CEO Yoram Knoop last spring.
On November 17, ForFarmers will provide an update of the strategy for the coming years, which has therefore been formulated without the involvement of a CEO. ForFarmers assumes that the markets will remain volatile for the time being.
Wouter Job
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